Kiss of life
by ShadowZelda-hime
Summary: 'What does one say to the person who saved one's life with a kiss' Tooth saves Jack from a second death by drowning...her method, however, is rather questionable. Rainbow Snowcone/Frostbite.
1. No air

**1- No air**

* * *

"Jack!"

He's sinking.

He's only conscious of the fact that he is suddenly very weak and of the weight of the black water over him, pushing him down into the darkness, away from the mending hole in the ice and blurry treetops and worried faces and blue skies over him, where the moon can be mildly seen. He, whose encounters with exhaustion in three-hundred-and-something years could be counted with a hand, finds himself too tired to move, to think, to fight back or even breathe. Something, the fragment of a memory, glitters in his eyes.

'_Yeah_' he thinks, as his heavy hands and even heavier feet try fleetingly to fight the weight over him '_This is how I died, right?_'

"Jack!"

Someone's calling. The voice, distorted by the water and muffled by the ice, is unfamiliar to him. What had he been doing before falling into this pit? He wasn't sure. It had to do with...with fearlings…yeah, those things. He struggles against the fog flooding his mind. He and the others…the worried faces somewhere above him…they had been fighting. How had he ended up falling? Ah, yes, one of the fearlings had charged against him. For a moment, he remembered it clearly, the fearling charging, and turning into a black whirlpool, literally sweeping him off his feet to make him twist in the blackness, carried by the spiral, his staff flying out of his hand by centrifugal force, the sound of the ice breaking somewhere close to him and then the impact of water that for once didn't turn to ice at his contact. A thought scratches the back of his mind fleetingly, and for a moment he recognizes the voice calling him again, but then it's gone, replaced by another memory. A girl, with a warm, relieved smile. He smiled back, letting out a little chuckle, and then something cracked below him and before he could realize what happened, he was already into the water, freezing, dark water, sinking, hearing her calling as the moon above them blurred and life left his body in the shape of bubbles that escaped his nose and mouth to run towards the surface.

'_Yeah, this is it_' murmurs a voice not unlike his own '_Suddenly, my nose was full of water, my chest and my throat burned, my hands twitched, trying to hold on to anything, but there was nothing to hold on to. I kept sinking, and sinking, and feeling my eyes roll up into their sockets and the tips of my fingers going numb, and mouthing like a fish until darkness ate me._'

"Jack!"

Was that even his name, the one the faraway voice keeps calling? Damned if he knew. Maybe, at some point, he had been known with that name, but dead people don't need names, right? And, boy, was he dead. He had been for centuries, since that day when the game of hopscotch had gone wrong. Why bother if this was the way things were supposed to be from the start? He blinks sleepily a couple of times, his brow furrowed, as the faraway light becomes dim and finally disappears behind the wall of ice that's mended after his fall, and again feels the clawing of a thought trying to make its way through the fog of his mind again, before dying out, swallowed by it.

'_…It's OK…_' he thinks, as if soothing the thought, while everything becomes a blur of black and blue '_… I wasn't supposed to come back, anyway…this is my grave…this is where I was supposed to stay…from the start…_'

He repeats this to himself while his heavy eyelids close and his expression softens.

Suddenly, a sound catches his attention; a crunch, a little muted by the water but still audible, and then another, and another. What…? His brow furrows again. Even though his eyelids are heavy, he just has to see whatever's capable of making such a ruckus, so he opens his eyes, just a little, to have them see their last before going back into the darkness.

A crack, from which light is slowly filtering, tingeing the water a gray, morning color, then the crack gets bigger, and he barely distinguishes small dainty fingers pulling on one edge of the crack, making it even bigger.

"Jack!"

His eyes are now fully open. He knows this voice. Another hand joins the first one and pulls, digging into the ice, until the crust of ice falls back, letting the light in. He blinks, his eyes narrowed at the sudden change in illumination, and then hears a sound that resembles a muffled explosion.

A body's hit the water, and generates a wave that moves him a little, between the bubbles, a flash of teal catches his attention. His eyes widen, alarmed.

'_Tooth_'

She's there, struggling clumsily to reach him. He can even see the small silver bubbles clinging to her feathers briefly before flying towards the surface. She kicks, and wiggles her arms and wings, trying to dive, with little success. She's frantic, and he worriedly realizes she probably doesn't know how to swim to begin with.

'_…no, Tooth…_' he thinks, watching her struggle towards him, endangering herself '_…go back…_'

Her lips are pursed to prevent air from leaving her, her brow is knit. He finds himself gazing at her eyes. Even through centuries of endless wanderings, he's never seen anything like them. He doesn't even know the name of that shade of purple, but it reminds him of orchids, or amethysts. The lashes around them make them seem to glisten all the more. It takes him a moment to realize that they're glistening with anguish, with sorrow. Her sadness hurts him.

'…_hey…no sad faces...' _he tries to offer her a smile, even the smallest one, but even his face is numb '_It's OK… really…I was…supposed to have died…so long ago, anyway..._'

Then he sees something else in those eyes. Determination.

'…_Tooth, really…_' he thinks, and this time, he almost does smile '_You've got to…go back to them…none of them…well, perhaps just Sandy… would accept it but…but they'd really be lost without you. Honestly, I don't know how they managed before they met you…'_

Come to think of it, he doesn't know how _he_ managed before meeting her. Without the now-and-then-reminders that someone was looking out for him. Without her catching up to him and reminding him he was supposed to rest a little or else he'd end up burning himself out, without the races for teeth, without the silent moments in which the both of them just stared at the sleeping children, side by side. Through these memories, others appear too.

That time when he'd found himself bored to death in the middle of the summer, so he'd flown to North's and spent a week helping him build a huge miniature train track with which they both played until an elf broke the train (The little bugger had been frozen to the ceiling before a minute was out) and they'd disarmed the track, a little reluctantly. That time when he and Sandy where having a friendly sparring and they realized he could freeze the golden dreamsand just as he had frozen Pitch's black one, so they experimented in mixing dreamsand and ice and created amazing golden dream statues that Sandy kept as a memento in his island, his smile wide and bright as he waved Jack goodbye, standing between two of them. That time when, due to a particularly hot Easter, the Eggs had begun melting in their hiding places and he'd 'Accidentally' frosted them a bit until the last one was found, and Bunnymund had 'Accidentally' sent him a huge Easter Egg, painted with frosty patterns.

Back in the present, Tooth's reaching out for him in the distance. He looks at her hand. It's so small, and it's reddened and covered with small gashes, was that caused by her digging and breaking the ice? He wants to apologize…a memory of North's huge, skillful hands and Bunnymund's soft-looking paws crosses the space between his eyelids. And of course, Sandy. His hands are probably the smallest, out of the five of them, but they're also hands that hold a power they can't even imagine. He can almost see them, his companions, his new family, digging into the ice until their hands bled, and reaching out to him just as Tooth is. The thought threatens to make him cry.

How had he been able to live without them? He honestly doesn't know. For years, decades, centuries, he could because he didn't know what he was missing. Now, though, the sole thought of having to part with them forever is destroying him. A thought surfaces, so powerful it drowns all the others even the voice telling him everything is useless.

'i_Will I forget them just like I forgot my family?_/i'

And this though finally kicks him into action. He doesn't want to forget any of the things he treasures again. Not Bunny's name-calling, not Sandy's gorgeous work, not North's laughter and kindness...

Not Tooth's eyes and voice.

He fights. He fights the paralysis that weights his limbs, and realizes, as the water shifts around him when he manages to move an arm, that it's only the fraction surrounding him that holds darkness.

The moon-dammed fearling. His staff is over the ice, but staff or no staff, he can still fight, and not freezing the water upon contact could, in this case, be used to his advantage. All it takes is for him to hit the damned thing and swim his way to the surface. The shifting of the water that revealed him his predicament shows it is possible. Mustering all the strength he can, he jerks his head back.

There is a noise, and an impact, and the darkness and paralysis around him seems to dissolve, or rather weight down into the water, freeing him. However, upon hitting the fearling, air has escaped his mouth.

'_Well, damn_' he inwardly curses, closing it before the water has a chance to go in.

This time, he is the one panicking, swimming as well as a person who hasn't taken a swim in more than three-hundred years can. Tooth realizes this and a look of relief washes over her; but upon the further discovery that Jack is a really sucky swimmer, worried lines crease her forehead again. She tries to dive for him again, but once again is unable to. Jack keeps trying to get closer, and this time it's his hand that reaches out to her, much to her chagrin, as she makes a double effort to go to him. However, both their advances are to slow, and he begins to feel pressure accumulating inside his head at the lack of air. His chest burns and his muscles twitch, his movements are becoming slower and weaker, and he comes to a complete halt not six yards away from Tooth, his hand still raised towards her.

'_Am I going to die again?_' he drunkenly wonders, and it hits him that he never really wondered whether he could. He guesses so, after all, the other Guardians had once thought they'd lost Sandy. Between the ringing in his ears and sleepy feeling, he sees Tooth, still struggling to reach him.

'_Let it go, Tooth…_' he thinks tiredly as he lets the air out through his nose because his chest is killing him...

Isn't she much closer, though?

The question answers itself as a small hand touches his fingers and palm, grasping his hand, then another small hand joins and firmly grasps his wrists and both hands pull. He feels himself moving through a multitude of bubbles, his body limp, his ears barely registering the sound of Tooth's desperate kicking and winging. Then, suddenly, he's a snowflake on the wind, swept here and there without having any say in it, without having the strength to resist or even open his eyes. The wind is dragging him up, up, up by the hand, and towards the bright, huge moon in the sky, and before he can wonder where exactly he is being taken, it stops and he is thrown up on a gravity-less impulse, colliding with something…or someone. Something soft that tickles brushes against him as two hands -two small hands- cup both his cheeks. Then it happens.

First, it's just a brush, timid, fleeting, almost as if the person touching him had gotten second thoughts. Then, warm and soft lips collide with mild strength against his mouth, prying his own lips open, and he's surprised to find bubbles of sweet, rainforest-like air entering it. He breathes them in hungrily, out of pure survival instinct. He is saved. But the touch over his mouth lingers, and he discovers a longing inside him, and that he needed this touch just as much as he needed the air. The hands that touch his jaw move to the back of his head, and the lips against his move, endearing. And they are warm, so warm he shouldn't want more, but he does. He responds, a little clumsily, and the spell is broken, his mouth is freed and he has to shut it immediately to prevent air from escaping him again. But now he's alert. He can feel bubbles brushing past him as he is hauled up, and there's a light, he can see it even through his eyelids. Is he still in the water? In any case, not for long, suddenly, a huge, furry paw and a bone-crushing grasp join that of the wind and he is pulled out of the water at a supersonic speed. Everything becomes a blur. He hears and not feels himself hitting the ground, face first, and for what seems hours, everything is confusion. He can hear voices, but the words are incomprehensible, and then someone is grasping him, turning him so that now he's lying on his back. Something warm drips over his face. Words are finally reaching him again.

"Jack!"

He manages to pry his eyes open and Tooth's face appears, tears falling from her face to his, one of her small, wounded hands brushing the hair out of his forehead. As he opens his eyes, a breathless, strangled chuckle leaves her mouth.

"Jack…!" her voice is hoarse. He tries to speak, but before he can, her face is buried in the crook of his neck, her eyelashes tickling him, her shoulders shaking, and he is at loss of words.

"I'm…I'm so glad…!" she sobs.

As conscience slips from him again, he can just think he's sorry he made her cry.

* * *

**C.C. (AKA) the author here. **

**I know the title is corny as hell, but it's supposed to be a pun on the alternate name of Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. This fic was basically spawned from the idea that Jack's one weakness (Besides heat) is being underwater, what with him having drowned in his human life and stuff (Not to mention all the cool water temperature transfer shenanigans) This was supposed to be a short one-shot, but I got too excited with it and…well, you know how it goes. Anyway, I'm splitting it in three parts, cause it technically could end here, but this idea still has some interesting branches to it (It also gives me the chance to edit by blocks, so…yeah)**

**Thoughts and critics are very welcome.**


	2. Wet Feathers

**2-Wet feathers **

* * *

"Oi! Wake up!"

Something furry that smells sort of like chocolate is slamming against his cheek.

"Pull yerself together, frostbite!"

'_Aussie-accented name calling? That's gotta be Cottontail_' Jack's eyes flutter open and he meets the Easter Bunny himself, clapping his face with a furry paw, a worried frown on his face. Next to him, Sandy is quickly (Perhaps hysterically) signaling -while holding onto his staff, Jack notices thankful-. A slow, pondering look around reveals him that they're on board of North's Sleigh, but their Russian comrade doesn't seem to be driving quite as wildly as usual. Looking at him, Jack finds he seems to be missing something, besides his characteristic zest when on the reins. Is something wrong?

"…what's up?" he manages to whisper weakly, trying to sit up. His vision blurs drastically and he stumbles back, biting back a moan.

"Woooh, take it easy, mate" Bunnymund says, crouched in front of him. Next to him, Sandy produces some symbols he fails to catch and the bunny makes a small calming motion with his paw before asking in a completely business-like manner that Jack can't help but find amusing "Alright…now, how many long ears do ya see?"

"Kangaroos don't have long ears" Jack mutters with a small smirk. Sandy smiles with relief and produces an 'O' and a 'K' over his head while nodding and giving a thumbs-up to an unimpressed Bunnymund.

" 's that the thanks I get for holding yer lousy bum down so ya don't fly off the sleigh?" he mumbles, his whiskers twitching in annoyance.

"Couldn't help myself…sorry" Jack finds himself saying, probably because he's too tired to make fun of him. The Easter Bunny sighs, then running a paw between his long ears with a deep breath.

"Right. We should be the ones saying that, Frostbite" he makes a small pause and sits next to him. Jack can see the trails of the bunny's nails on the wooden sled's floor.

'_So he's still afraid of this rackety…_' Jack thinks amusedly.

"Sorry we didn't come to yer rescue" Bunnymund continues in a sincere fashion that's almost awkward to both him and Jack. Sandy nods, scratching his nape.

"Pfft, get serious, guys, that's OK-" Jack starts, his mind working at light speed, searching for a joke to break the moment.

"Nope. It ain't OK" Bunnymund declares gravely without giving him a chance, crossing his arms "We're supposed to be a team, to stick together through thick and thin, and yet it took us so freakin' long to realize what had happened to ya that, hadn't it been for Tooth, ya'd been- "

"TOOTH!" Jack bursts out before he can stop himself, looking around for her agile form. The memory of her…underwater mouth-to-mouth is vivid in his mind and he is at once both really anxious to talk to her and very embarrassed to do so. However, she is nowhere to be seen and this is very unsettling "… where is she?"

Bunnymund and Sandy share a brief glance, before latter nods once and then produces an arrow over his head that points somewhere between Jack's feet.

Jack moves, granted, rather clumsily , though aided by the bunny, to kneel and take a look at an usually concealed spot under the seat, presumably, one of the places where North keeps the cookies and milk for the road, and finds Toothiana curled up in the small, dark space, her eyes closed. Her shivering, small form is wrapped in something huge and hairy and red and he realizes that's what North had been missing. His coat.

"Tooth!" Jack calls breathlessly. The Fairy responds to his call by opening her eyes slowly "Tooth, are you OK?"

She gives him a sleepy smile, and closes her eyes again, without reply.

"What's wrong?" Jack asks, raising scared, wide eyes to Bunnymund and Sandy "Why is she like this?" both grimace slightly and share another glance, as if deciding whether to tell him or not.

"…let's just say…feathers, water and cold don't get along too well" Bunnymund finally says in an uncharacteristically limp tone, and a memory fleets in Jack's mind: Birds flying away from the winter because the cold would kill them otherwise. He'd helped a few of them over the years, holding back the icy nights so that they'd have time to put some more distance between them and the snow, but sometimes even his efforts weren't enough and he'd find them, contorted over the snow.

Tooth had dived for him inside a frosty lake and she looked like she was, at least, half-bird.

"Is she gonna be OK?" Jack asks urgently, his voice cracking at the end of the sentence.

"Sure…sure, frosty, no sweat" Bunnymund assures, this time more convinced "North has this sauna-thing at his place, she can warm up and dry herself up in there"

"You sure-?!" before he can finish, the sled touches ground and sends him flying right onto a passerby Yeti that's feeling kind enough to stop his fall. The impact, even when softened by the huge furry creature, still is enough to knock him out.

* * *

This time, when Jack opens his eyes, the heavily ornamented ceiling of North's bedroom greets him. North's bed, huge enough for ten guys his size, is also uncomfortably warm, as it is covered with what seem to be bear pelts, and though he hadn't been covered with them, they still gave off more warmth than he'd ever be comfortable with. He sits up and stretches, reckoning the damage done to his body; most of his extremities are sore and, well, he's not gonna be riding the wind back to Burgess in at least a day or two, but he's pretty much woundless. His eyes wonder through the bed and catch on his staff, comfortably laid down not far from his legs. He reaches for it, the sole contact of the cold wood against his palm like a part of his own body. He takes a full breath, content.

'_Fearlings: 0 Guardians: 312745...and 1_' he thinks sleepily, falling back into the pillows. However, another idea rises him from the bed in a zoom '_Tooth! How long was I out? Is she…?_'

Jack all but flies out of the room, lands on swift feet and starts running down the palace-like halls.

Yeti's recognize him on sight, and he can tell some of them have to remind themselves that he's a guest this time to hold themselves back from breaking his spine as he sweeps next to them, frosting everything with his inner turmoil. The elves, much lighter than a Yeti, end up flying around, covered in icy designs, laughing maniacally; he'd be amused if he weren't so worried. At the sight of Phil, the only Yeti who's grows he can mildly understand, he asks for the location of the 'Sauna-thingie' Bunnymund had mentioned earlier. Phil, though curious, asks nothing but merely points the right direction and Jack leaves like a breath, thanking hurriedly. He finds it soon enough, and opens the door in a huff, calling for Tooth.

The room, painted in rich reds and golds, it's empty.

A frustrated groan leaves his lips as he crouches, frowning.

Alone again.

Where's everybody? Why had no one woken him up? Has Tooth really gotten better? A paranoid thought makes its way into his mind, crippling him momentarily. What if Tooth had been in more danger than Bunny and Sandy had wanted to reveal? What if they'd only said (Or Bunnymund had, at least) that thing about the sauna just to stop him from worrying? What if things had taken a turn for the worst and now the rest of the Guardians just couldn't bear to look at him? What if Tooth was…?

The moment she'd breathed into him, her lips on his, and her face when he opened his eyes above the ice appear in his memory, and then dead birds, contorted and cold, do too. This time he closes his eyes tight shut to stop tears from escaping them. He drops on his knees and bends forward, resting his weight on his staff, taking deep breaths, a pain only comparable to that of Pitch breaking his staff filling him. The floor around him is already white with frost.

"_Bozhe Moy_! Jack? What are you doing?" comes North booming voice from behind him, making him start and turn to him. The Guardian of wonder is looking at him, eyebrows raised, hands on his hips. Jack almost lets out a relieved laugh, so he's not alone! However, as he gets to his feet to go to him, his face shows only worry.

"Where's Tooth?" he asks North.

"Tooth?" North repeats, before running a hand over his own scalp bashfully "…hidden, if she knows best for her…I…I'm afraid Bunny, Sandy and I might have...you know, smothering her with attentions since she came out of the sauna this morning"

"So-so you mean she's OK?!" Jack hurries him.

"_Da_, _da_, my dear boy. She just fine" North replies soothingly, with a somewhat knowing smile. The thought that he knows about Tooth…mouth-to-mouthing him crosses Jack's mind for a second and he's suddenly very uneasy, but North continues, his tone grave "She _did_ give us quite fright, though. I believe we all thought she was dying on us yesterday…" seeing Jack's horrified expression, he quickly adds "Oh, no, no, Jack, she was never really-! You know…she's Tooth. She's our lady; she could have gotten paper-cut and we would still have been fretting over her"

"It was my fault she had to endanger herself in the first place" Jack says with a scowl.

"No, Jack" North says, laying a huge hand on his shoulder in a supportive manner as he bends closer to him to speak face-to-face "You were inside water, element to which you probably not used at all, because, well, it usually freezes. You were also knocked out by fearling, you were helpless. I'm sure Bunny told you this already, but rest of us hadn't noticed anything was wrong, only one who did was Tooth, so she act on it. You needn't blame yourself for it" North sighs "This is exactly why we're reluctant to tell you what wetting her feathers does. None of us want you to blame yourself anymore, Jack. We don't like seeing you beat yourself up for every little mistake" Jack averts his eyes, so he continues "Tooth knew water is dangerous to her, but she still chose taking that risk. Have you thought why she would do that?"

Jack didn't reply. He hadn't thought of it, to tell the truth. What had Bunny said about it, though? 'Teams are supposed to stick together through thick and thin', which could be translated as 'She did what any of us would have done, had we noticed you were in trouble'

He thought about Tooth's lips on his own and barely held back a grimace. He sure was thankful Tooth had been the one instead of the others. But there's something that didn't quite fit with that idea. He isn't sure what, though.

"Anyway" North says, crossing his arms behind him with a business-like demeanor "If you really want to know, there is place I overheard Tooth say she was going, the last time I saw her…"

* * *

**C.C (AKA) the author here. One chapter to go, yay. I'm throwing Jack and Tooth's relation with the other guardians because, come on, as much as I like his relationship with one another, their world doesn't revolve around them. And though I enjoy focusing on the couple's interactions alone as much as the next person, I enjoy couples much more when placed in context...yyyeah, this is what theatre does to you. Anyway, North speaks weird here because…well, doesn't he speak weird in the movie? (I wouldn't know, I watched it in Spanish) and in most fanfics I've read, he does *shrug* Thoughts? Comments?**


	3. Long-awaited talk

**3- Long-awaited talk**

* * *

Just as he was warned, he comes across Bunnymund fretting over the fact that he can't find her anywhere. His anxiety only slows down a little at the sight of Jack, but after Bunny's informed himself on his well-being and awkwardly declared he's relieved, he goes back to fretting. Sandy has long since given up –probably realizing Tooth has a good reason to be missing- and seems pretty amused with the current situation. Jack walks away just as the Easter Bunny is suggesting a hundredth round of looking under the sofas and he can't help but smile at the thought that, for someone whose job consist in hiding stuff, Bunnymund's a rather sucky searcher.

The surroundings to North's room are deserted, he notices with a somehow relieved feeling as he approaches the bedroom door. But upon placing his hand on the handle, he hesitates. As hyped as he was about seeing her, he hadn't really had time to think things over. What is he going to say? What does one say to the person who saved your life with a kiss? He almost hits himself with his own staff at this thought. That hadn't been a kiss! Or had it-?! No, It was just as the bloody Kangarro had said, Tooth had only done her duty as his teammate…granted, in a rather unconventional way. With an unarticulated groan, Jack lets go of the handle and runs a hand through his hair. He has the feeling he's forgetting something, but what? Another question interrupts his thought, why did he have to mess up so Tooth had to save him and make things so damn complicated?

'_Well, I guess I'll keep it simple, then_" he resolves, squaring his shoulders "_I'll go in there, say thank you and then leave before things get too awkward_'

He nods; perfect plan. Without any more hesitation, he opens the door and steps inside, preparing himself, however, the half-screamed thanks he had planned die on his lips as the sight of a sleeping Toothiana greets him inside the room.

She's lying on her side, feathers and wings extending around her, making her look like an exotic work of art…hell, she _is_ an exotic work of art. Jack swallows a sudden knot around his throat and approaches her, unsure of what he should do. He ends up sitting on the bed next to her, despite the unpleasant heat from North's bear pelts.

He remembers in all clarity how he saw her back in the pond and compares it to how he sees her now. The shimmering feathers, the small bandaged hands –he cringes a little at this, knowing the cause was him- the impossibly long eyelashes…there are so many things about Tooth that make her rare and beautiful at the same time, and it had taken almost dying for him to stop and think about it. Perhaps he hasn't thought much about it because he's gotten used to her? It's possible. Their first meeting hadn't been exactly romantic, what with her tugging his mouth open to see his teeth and the whole New Guardian thing. And soon they had too many other matters in their heads to waste time thinking about stuff like that.

But, fair is fair, many times Jack's found himself staring. Centuries of being surrounded by people who couldn't see him have given him a thing for watching other people and Tooth is no exception ; even back at Pitch's incident, sometimes he couldn't help but stare. She'd caught him a couple of times, and in each her reaction had been flustered…but above all, surprised, as if she couldn't believe someone would stare at her. Was it really that weird for him to stare? Or was it because it was him? He realizes he's rested his elbow on his thigh, and his chin on his hand, and more importantly, that a smile is tugging at the sides of his mouth and there's blush on his face.

Shoot, he's such a creep! But he can't help it.

Suddenly, her eyelids flutter open and he all but leaps back. It takes her a moment to realize what she's seeing, but when she does, she offers him the same sweet, sleepy smile she'd offered him on the sled.

"…hello there" she coos . Jack's pretty sure his face is completely red by now.

"H-hey" he replies, waving nervously. She stretches, giving him a chance to clear his throat and try and regain some seriousness.

"I was looking for you" she continues, sitting up.

"Yeah, so I was told" he replies, sitting on the bed next to her, albeit a little hesitant.

"When I saw you weren't here, I'd figure I'd wait for a while to see if you'd come back but….well, this bed is too comfortable" well, that's debatable, he thinks "I figured it wouldn't hurt to lie down for a while…"

It occurs Jack that this is an extremely uncommon thing for Tooth to do, unless…

"Tooth" he says in a reproachful tone "Don't tell me you went straight to work right after recovering..:"

"Well, of course I had to! Teeth weren't going to collect themselves"

"Uh-huh. So you didn't give yourself a moment's rest even though you almost froze to death…" he chides her softly. She discards it with a gesture.

"Jack, don't exaggerate, I was merely a little chilled, that's all"

He rolls his eyes despite the smile that's spreading in his lips. She's such a workaholic!

"Besides…well, I spent so many years letting my fairies do most of the work…I guess I didn't want to miss a chance go out, fly through the world, see the kids…" she pouts slightly "But during the night, the other guys kept turning up to help me collect teeth. Normally I would have loved this, but—"

"Let me guess, they were actually looking out for you"

"Looking out? They were harassing me! North kept insisting he should fly me everywhere on his sled so that I 'Didn't tire myself out'…honestly, I may be a little out-of-shape, but I'm still the Tooth Fairy! And one that's a very good flyer too!" her cheeks are flushed with indignation and her feathers are ruffled. Jack wonders whether it's bad for him to think she looks adorable like this…but then he reminds himself that he's staring "And then Sandy! He just kept inspecting every room before I could go inside it to see if it was safe. It was taking me thrice as normal to collect each tooth with him around! And don't get me started on Bunny…"

"Let's hear what dear old Cottontail did"

"He basically kept telling me to sit put while he did everything for me! I know he was trying to be gallant, but that was just downright _rude_ of him! "

Jack chuckles, though he gets where the others come from with all their over-protectiveness of Tooth. She seems small, and colorful and fragile…one wouldn't even suspect how much she's been through and how strong it has made her. Jack realizes he's staring at her yet again and he clears his throat averting his eyes.

"So…how did you get rid of them?" he asks.

"Oh, well, I told them I wanted to check on you. That prompted an argument between them, over who should get to fly me here…so I sneaked while they were at it, and…well, you know the rest, this nice, warm bed…" she trails off sleepily but an alerted look comes to her face suddenly "Oh, my! Do the others know where I am?"

"Nope. Only me" Jack says. It's not exactly true, but no one's gonna come looking for her anyway and he can always freeze the door solid if they try.

She lies down again with a relieved sigh.

"Oh, good. I really appreciate what they were trying to do for me, but _gosh_...!"

Jack chuckles again, but as the reason why he came looking for her in the first place intrudes in his mind again, he clears his throat and steadies himself. The sooner he gets done with it, the better.

There's still something he wants to say before thanking her, though.

"You saved me yesterday" he says, slightly hesitant. She looks away, seemingly bashful "But you really shouldn't have gone into the water"

"I take it the guys told you about my problem with getting wet" she replies softly, with a hint of a smile. He scowls softly, this is no laughing matter.

"Tooth, I'm serious. Don't do something like that again, not even for me"

His tone warns her about his seriousness in the matter, so she sits up, her expression serious.

"Jack, I couldn't just leave you there. You know that" she says, conciliatory. The fact that she sounds so reasonable annoys him for some reason.

"Yeah, well, you could have told the other guys what was happening…" he grumbles

"I'm sure they told you this already, but I was the only one around for the moment and there was no time to lose"

"Well, you should have waited for them!" he bursts. He regrets it immediately, at Tooth's hurt and shocked expression.

"What's wrong?" she whispers, moving closer to him. He breathes out, partially because he's trying to regain calm and partially because her proximity takes his breath away.

"…I don't want you to get hurt because of me" he finally says.

"Oh Jack…" she catches his face between both her hands and makes him turn gently "…look, I'm alright! I'm not hurt at all, see?"

He retreats slightly so he can stare at her hands intently and she scoffs.

"They're just scratches, don't worry about them…!"

"Promise" he says curtly.

"Huh?"

"That you'll never do anything as reckless as that again" he explains, looking at her puzzled expression "…please, Tooth, you gotta promise me that or I won't be able to fight without worrying about you. Promise"

All of a sudden, her feathers are ruffled again.

"Jack Frost, are you implying that I can't take care of myself?"

Oops. Abort.

"That's not what I said" he retreats. She's hovering, her arms straight at her sides.

"For your information, I was already an expert fighter back when your p-perfect pearly whites were merely sprouting! I think I deserve a little respect from you at least for that!"

"Listen, that's not what I mean, I just-!" he lets out a frustrated breath and rests his forehead in his staff before continuing in a calmer tone "I just…when Bunny told me about your feathers…I just…I felt like an idiot for letting you risk yourself like that for me!"

She seems to consider his words, and lets out a sigh.

"I did it because you needed me" she says. He's pretty sure his stomach did a backflip. She sits close to him again, staring at her hands.

"…for three-hundred years, you needed me and I failed you, Jack" she whispers "I promised myself I wouldn't fail you. Never again"

Jack's brow knits. Is she guilt-tripping herself over him? Over his…his situation before becoming a Guardian? They'd talked about it before, on the nights where he'd offered to help her collect teeth, or those rare days-off she allowed herself. He'd said it so many times, that he understood, that he should have asked for help, that he didn't blame them. How were they supposed to know about his problems if he didn't speak up? And yet, Tooth's still blaming herself for not helping him earlier, for not guessing. Now he gets how his friends feel when they hear him beating himself up over his past mistakes. Another thought crosses his mind; the way Cottontail had apologized to him the day before. Were the other guys blaming themselves too?

She places a hand softly over his shoulder, as if telling him to let it go.

"I'm OK now, really" she makes a pause and chuckles lightly "Just make sure you don't make an habit out of falling inside lakes, OK?"

He can't hold back a smirk at this.

"I'll try"

She smiles. He's breathless again.

"Good" she hovers, and stretches her arms "Well! I think I'm all set after that nap. I better get back to work"

The realization that he hasn't really talked about what he wanted to hits Jack, erasing the smile off his face.

"W-w-wait, Tooth!" he calls nervously. She looks at him, intrigued. He's pretty intrigued himself. Jack Frost losing his cool? Unthinkable. He clears his throat "Th-there's still something else we need to talk about"

She tips her head slightly, but goes back to sitting on the bed nevertheless, because anything that makes Jack this nervous promises to be interesting. He switches his staff from hand to hand a couple of times, trying to find where to begin with, but, well, he's new to this kind of stuff, it's proving hard.

'_Aw, heck_. _Just get done with it already!_'

"So, um…" he begins. Man, that's lame! He tries again"…Tooth, about what happened in the water-" she's hovering in front of him before he can finish. He all but stumbles back.

"Y-y-you were awake?!" she asks in a squeak, her face the color of North's coat "Ohmygosh, Jack I'm so sorry, so, so, so ,so sorry!" she's talking so fast he has problems catching what she's saying. The fact that she starts circling around the room nervously doesn't help "Y-you weren't moving anymore and-and-and had your eyes closed and I-I-I was scared you wouldn't open them again and—I-I've heard it said that when people spend too much time without oxygen they get brain damage, so I—I wasn't sure it'd even work, you know, but I had to try and—well, it worked, but-"

"Tooth" he calls, raising both palms in a calming gesture "Breathe. Slow down. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack"

Tooth obeys, albeit still deeply blushed.

"Listen, I understand, OK?" Jack continues.

"Really?" she asks, visibly relieved "S-so it didn't bother you?"

Now he's perplexed. Bothered? Well, now that's a thought that hadn't even crossed his mind. Flustered? Sure. Confused? Yeah, OK. Bothered? No. Not in the least. If anything he'd been…pleasantly shocked. He'd even say he'd enjoyed it-er, well, and it had saved his life, so, what would make her think something that saved his life would bother him…?

Then it hits him, what he's been forgetting.

"It _was_ a kiss, then" he says bemusedly; her face turns scarlet yet again, he walks to her and catches her hands between his, his voice shaking with excitement "After you breathed into me…after that…it was a kiss, wasn't it?!"

He remembers now. Her hands had moved towards the back of her head, and her lips had moved against his, and grown so warm. It hadn't been just a teammate taking one for the team, it had been Tooth kissing him because she had chosen to.

His train of thought vanishes as he realizes Tooth looks like she might faint, looking at their hands, and then him, and then their hands again…damn, he's staring again!

"…I tried to kiss you back" he says. Her eyes widen.

"W-what..?" she squeaks.

"I-I was just starting to kiss you back when you stopped…"

She lets out a small, breathy laugh.

"I-I thought you were squirming!" she confesses, seemingly relieved.

"No, no, I was kissing you back"

"For real?"

"Yes!"

"So that means you…" she's so flustered she can barely speak "…t-that means I…what I feel…you too…?"

Words get stuck in his throat. In all his years, he's only used the word 'Love' when attached to the words 'Riding the wind', 'Pranks', 'Snowfights', and, more recently, his sister's name. Using it for something else feels weird. But he realizes she feels the same way, because neither of them can breathe. He remembers it was the thought of forgetting his friends –of forgetting _her_- what made him finally fight the fearling off; now he knows that, should he ever find himself in a situation like that again, he'll never stop fighting. He has a good reason to. He has good friends who'll stand by him and a girl who's bowed never to fail him.

This time, it's him who makes the move, his hands still wrapped around hers. And this time the kiss steals his breath away, but he feels alive.

* * *

**C.C (AKA) the author here. **

**Well, that was fun. I wrote this hoping it would help my obsession with these guys, and the RotG stuff in general calm down, but it seemingly just added fuel to the flames *sigh* Such is the life of a fangirl. I'm still gonna try to work on something Non-RotG related after this, but I doubt I succeed. Anyway, hope you enjoyed reading my little piece of fanfiction. It's seriously the most fluffy thing I've ever written, but I'm still proud with how it came out. Comments and critics are always welcome!**


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